Chelsea v Arsenal

Arsenal take on Chelsea in an all-English Europa League final in Baku, Kazakhstan on Wednesday. The Gunners need to win the Europa League title in order to qualify for the Champions League next season, while The Blues will want to win their first major European competition since winning this competition in 2012-13.

Chelsea

After an up and down season, Chelsea have the chance to close it out with a piece of hardware in the form of the Europa League trophy. The Blues will already feel like winners this season, as they managed to capture a top four finish in the Premier League, putting them back into the Champions League for next season. This will take the pressure off of this Chelsea side, who will be coming into this title match with a couple injuries of note. Center back Antonio Rudiger and midfielders N’golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are all expected to miss the final due to injury, leaving major gaps in the spine of this team. As usual, Chelsea’s success will likely rely heavily on the contribution of winger Eden Hazard. Hazard, who may be playing his last game as a member of Chelsea Football Club, is coming off of a stunning season in the Premier League in which he scored 16 goals and assisted 15 more. His playmaking ability has been nearly unstoppable all season, and he will be full of confidence against the familiar backline and midfield that Arsenal will put out. Former Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has to be a player to watch as well. The Frenchman has found his form in this competition, scoring 10 goals in 13 Europa League appearances.

Chelsea has been in fairly good form ahead of the Europa League final against Arsenal. The Blues have won two of their last three games, going undefeated with a 2-4-0 record in their last six. Chelsea has been nearly perfect in the Europa League so far, putting up a 12-2-0 record in the tournament. In their last five games in the Europa League, Chelsea has gone 4-1-0.

Chelsea Expected Starting Lineup
Kepa Arrizabalaga, Emerson Palmieri, David Luiz, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Pedro, Gonzalo Higuain, Eden Hazard

Chelsea Europa League Form

Arsenal

Wednesday’s Europa League final is a huge match for Arsenal for many reasons, the biggest of which is the need to quality for the Champions League next season. For Arsenal to compete for the top players in the transfer market, they will need to qualify for the UCL. The right man is at the helm for the Gunners, as manager Unai Emery has conquered this tournament three straight seasons at one point in his career with Sevilla. Emery’s experience will be put to the test during his team selection, as he will have a decision to make at the goalie position. Emery has installed Petr Cech as the Europa League goalie to this point of the season, but his first choice keeper in the league, Bernd Leno, has been one of Arsenal’s best players in recent weeks. Fortunately for Arsenal, there will be no doubt about the front three. Lacazette, Aubameyang, and Ozil will be leading a dangerous attack for the Gunners. The trio has hit a level of sharpness and consistency in their last 3-4 matches that could carry into this match.On the injury front, forward Danny Welbeck has made his return to full action, and will likely feature on the bench in place of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who will not be in attendance due to an ongoing conflict between Armenia and Kazakhstan.

Arsenal have returned to form after a dreadful end to the Premier League season. The Gunners have won three of their last four games, and have a record of 3-1-2 in their last six games. Arsenal has been arguably the best side in the Europa League throughout the tournament, going 11-1-2 in 14 Europa League matches. In their last five matches, Arsenal have a perfect 5-0-0 record, beating the likes of Napoli and Valencia home and away.

Arsenal Expected Starting Lineup
Bernd Leno, Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Sokratis, Sead Kolasinac, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang

Arsenal Europa League Form

The Odds

Here are how the odds to win the match look from the bookies ahead of the game.

Chelsea to win @ 2.32 (33/25) with Betfair.
Arsenal to win @ 3.50 (5/2) with 18Bet.
Draw @ 3.50 (5/2) with Unibet.

Odds taken at 22:30 GMT 29/05/2019

Key Points

• Chelsea is undefeated in their last eight matches across all competitions, while Arsenal is undefeated in their last four matches in all competitions
• Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud is leading the Europa League in scoring with 10 goals in the tournament
• Arsenal striker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has scored seven goals in his last four games
• Arsenal manager Unai Emery has won the Europa League three times in his career (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15)

Our Verdict

Arsenal and Chelsea faceoff in what promises to be an electric Europa League final. Arsenal come into this contest as the underdogs at a tempting (+205) moneyline odds. This line seems almost too good to be true, as we are going with the Gunners in this one. Arsenal looked like the better team over the two meetings during the season. Unai Emery and his side also have much more to play for than Chelsea, who have already earned qualification into the UCL next season. With all of the rumors swirling around Sarri and Hazard, along with the injuries plaguing the squad, we see Arsenal taking this one on Wednesday. Lacazette and Aubameyang will prove to be to potent against this Chelsea side, earning Arsenal their first European trophy in over 20 years.